Speaking at a workshop on “Zero tolerance to gender based violence” organized by Sancharika Samuha on the final day of the 16 days of activism against gender based violence on Tuesday, Monha Ansari, spokesperson for the Women Commission said despite the presence of half a dozen central and district level mechanisms to minimize violence against women and hundreds of other organizations working in the area, the result has not been any better. [break]
“Sixty percent of women in the rural areas and above 35 percent women across the country are reported to have faced violence in one or the other form. The road to justice is not easy for women due to the lethargic legal process, political interference in many cases and women´s financial dependence on men,” she said.
She admitted that even the Women´s Commission has not been able to give justice to the victims due to several loopholes in the mechanism. “There are so many legal and practical hurdles. Unless the process is smoothened, we can yield no satisfactory results no matter how many national and local bodies vow to fight for the cause,” she added.
Similarly another speaker Durga Shob, president of Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) said there is a need for identifying the group of women most vulnerable to violence. “We need not exaggerate the situation of Dalit women in the country. They need special package for empowerment,” she said.
According to Chief Secretary Lilamani Poudyal the country is failing to adopt zero tolerance on gender based violence because state mechanisms alone are not be enough.
“I have visited many violence prone areas and gathered conclusion that there is a serious need for making women financially independent. In addition, both men and women should be made aware of the effects of such violence,” he said.
Even though he has publicly spoken against citizenship through mother´s name several times and so often criticized by women activists, CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal during the program said that he believed in changing men´s perception of women. “There is no elected local body as no election has been held. Where would the women go to complain about their sufferings?” he said.
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